The Sustainable Energy Association welcomes the publication of the Government’s response to the Energy Company Obligation consultation as this provides greater certainty and stability for industry. The timescales and approaching parliamentary recess were a concern for many of our members, therefore we are pleased that BEIS has published these documents ahead of recess.

However, we are very disappointed to see that oil boilers will continue to be supported under the scheme despite the Government’s commitment to phasing out high carbon fossil fuels. We believe that this is inconsistent with the Clean Growth Strategy and the aim to decarbonise heat. To aid with the decarbonisation of heat, we hoped to see the RHI and ECO working together. Therefore welcome the decision to allow GSHPs to receive RHI payments and ECO support. We would have liked to have seen this widened to cover a greater range of low carbon technologies, particularly in off grid areas.

We are pleased to see that ECO3 will support innovative measures. The SEA hosted an industry workshop in collaboration with BEIS and it is good to see that some of the recommendations from the workshop will be reflected in the scheme.